Premaitha Health

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Case Study – ?Milestone? NHS contract for molecular diagnostics company

?The advice provided by GM AHSN was invaluable in navigating the tender process and ensured that we were able to communicate both the full benefit of the test, and of Premaitha as a valuable partner?

Dr Stephen Little, CEO, Premaitha Health

Until Premaitha Health won its NHS contract for the IONA? test pregnant women in the UK could only access non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) privately, and even then there was an anxious two-week wait for results.

The Manchester company, which is AIM-listed in the London Stock Exchange, with help from Greater Manchester Academic Health Science Network (GM AHSN), won a competitive tender process to supply the IONA? test to St George?s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust under a three-year contract.

GM AHSN provided advice and support to Premaitha through its Innovation Nexus initiative: how to navigate the NHS’s complex procurement systems, and on the best way to proceed with the agreement.

How it happened

Premaitha was interested in responding to a competitive NHS tender. For any med-tech company, the NHS procurement process can be a challenge. An Innovation Nexus procurement adviser was able to help the company understand the tender process, then guided them through the application (33 pages) advising what information needed to be included and how.

Through this process Premaitha has learned valuable insight into the NHS tender process, which will be essential for working with the NHS in the future.

The IONA? test

?It is great to be able to collaborate with the St George?s team to make the many benefits of NIPT a reality for pregnant women and clinicians within the UK?

Dr Stephen Little, CEO, Premaitha Health

Premaitha?s IONA? test is the first CE-marked in vitro diagnostic (IVD) product for non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for serious genetic disorders such as Down?s, Edwards? and Patau?s syndromes.

Using next-generation sequencing technology, it estimates the risk of a fetus being affected by analysing cell-free fetal DNA from a 10ml sample of maternal blood.

More accurate than the current combined test, the IONA? test has a much lower ?false positive? rate so reduces unnecessary invasive follow-up tests, which are stressful and have a small risk of miscarriage.

Visit www.premaitha.com

Innovation Nexus

?We have a team of expert advisors who work with companies on a wide range of issues from market assessments and clinical trials, to how to access funding and NHS procurement?

Keith Chantler, Executive Director of Industry and Wealth, GM AHSN

Focused on supporting SMEs to do business with the NHS, the GM AHSN has established the Innovation Nexus as a bespoke support system for med-tech in the Greater Manchester region.

Supported by 34 member organisations and a range of influential partners, Innovation Nexus acts as a one-stop access hub from which companies can access information, funding opportunities and expertise as well as procurement help.

Its current primary priority clinical areas are cardiovascular health, patient safety and digital health/informatics.

Visit www.intohealth.org

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